Side Story: Skirt
Side Story: Skirt
The flower of women.
I don't know how women themselves feel about it, but personally, I think it's the skirt.
Long skirts, mini skirts, midi skirts, maxi skirts, circle skirts, wrap skirts, tulip skirts, and so on...
There are countless skirts in this world, and from them, an infinite number of derivative skirts exist.
With very rare exceptions, I believe the skirt is the ultimate garment that can make a woman shine.
Isn't that precisely why formal suits and wedding dresses are made as skirts?
Ah, well, there is one detestable kind of skirt.
I'm not particularly fond of the Scottish men's kilt.
Why does such a thing even exist?
Isn't it precisely because of that, that I now find myself in this situation?
As it happens, I've been dragged to an outlet mall for the first time in a while by my noona, her former members, and my younger sister.
But then, all of a sudden, they said they wanted to try putting a skirt on me.
Although I do like skirts, I don't like wearing them.
No matter how much this is a modern society where men commonly wear skirts.
"Seong-hwan-a~ When are you coming out~"
"Ugh... you, just wait..."
I heard the voice of Eun-ji, the very culprit who put me in this situation.
I'm going to take you to a lingerie shop later and make you put on a naked fashion show.
"You're doing the lingerie fashion show at a lingerie shop later, just as we agreed."
"Meh-heh-heh. I've got nothing to be ashamed of~ After all, I'm a woman~"
This is why being a man is great.
I can exact a much bigger revenge.
Anyway....
In the end, I ended up wearing a skirt.
This was the first time I'd worn a skirt since wearing a slightly flashy skirt-style yukata when I went on a date to Japan with A-ra about eight years ago.
So my mental state was pretty shaken at the moment.
"Heh-heh... the great Yoo Seong-hwan... in a skirt..."
"Seong-hwan-a~ Noona wants to see you in that skirt quickly too~"
".......Just a moment, please."
Still, if my wife wants to see it... it's not like I can't wear it just this once.
If only this were the master bedroom at home, not a brand store in a huge outlet mall.
Better to get the painful part over with quickly.
I straightened my clothes, swung the fitting room door open, and stepped out.
"Ugh... why do you all keep trying to make me wear a skirt..."
"Wow... Seong-hwan-a. It really suits you perfectly."
As soon as I came out, Eun-ji and Minji approached me with sparkling eyes.
Minji was just quietly watching, while Eun-ji was touching various parts of the outfit and admiring it.
I could handle my little sister touching me.
But I couldn't quite get used to Hwa-young and Yeji staring openly at me.
"Seong-hwan-a..."
"Yes..."
"Do you want to marry into Noona's family?"
"I've been a married man for 8 years and I also have a daughter."
"Oh, right. I forgot."
I suppose I was handsome enough for Hwa-young, a big-time Hollywood actor, to fall for me at first sight.
Which was a bit embarrassing, actually.
That aside... A-ra suddenly pouted when her friend (unnie) confessed to her husband.
Of course, Hwa-young was only joking; she didn't mean it seriously.
She didn't mean it, right?
"Seong-hwan-a. How about walking around in that skirt today?"
"Ugh... I'm so embarrassed I could die, seriously..."
It's embarrassing enough to die just in front of women I know, and now she wants me to walk around like this in front of strangers?
I might actually foam at the mouth and collapse.
"Daddy! You're so pretty!"
"Right? Arini, you think so too?"
"Yeah! I think you might be prettier than a male idol!"
My daughter gave me a compliment that left me aghast.
I'd been told I was 'pretty' in the sense that I earned more money than the idols at the Director's agency, but hearing I was pretty in terms of looks was something I hadn't heard in a long while.
Well, I was decent enough looking that if 100 people passed by, 150 would turn their heads.
"*Cough, ahem...*"
"Seong-hwan-a. How about trying on this dress this time?"
".....I'm really embarrassed though..."
"I said it's fine, so come on!"
"Haah.... Alright."
Still, if my wife wants to see it, what can I do?
For an uxorious man like me, it was simply too hard to refuse.
I had no choice but to take the dress A-ra was holding and was about to go inside, but...
"Noona will help you put it on."
Suddenly, A-ra came into the fitting room with me.
No, seriously, is there anything in this world easier to put on than a dress...
"Take it all off."
"Eeek... but then it's annoying to change back again later..."
"Doesn't matter~ Take it off~"
A-ra was resolute.
And with that, my wife began stripping my clothes off one by one.
Like I'd turned into a helpless little sausage, I had no choice but to stand still and receive her touch.
My top, and then the skirt I'd been wearing were removed...
She put the dress on me from the bottom, pulling it over my head.
A-ra looked at it and nodded her head, seeming very satisfied.
What exactly made her so happy...
"My husband. You look so much prettier today..."
"*Ahem...* Did you fall for me?"
"Yeah. I fall for you several times a day, and I just fell for you again right now."
Hearing her say that made my face flush a little.
I began to think that wearing a skirt once in a while wasn't so bad.
It also made me wonder if I'd been too indifferent all this time when it was something my wife wanted.
Now that I'd actually worn it, it wasn't something I couldn't do.
"But I'm still not going outside wearing it."
"Eeeng...."
A-ra helped me take the dress off again.
It seemed she had come into the fitting room just to see it for herself.
***
"Heh-heh... I've been waiting so long for this."
"You get that excited even when you're looking at another woman's body right in front of your husband?"
"What are you talking about. You said it yourself. That women don't mind showing some skin in front of men."
That was literally true.
By social convention, it's considered embarrassing behavior for a man to expose his body, but don't women run around with their tops off?
Right now, if you go to Cheonggyecheon or a gym, it's overflowing with women on treadmills who have even tossed aside their bras.
If a man looks at them, they just think he's looking at their muscles or that he's interested in them; women who feel ashamed about it simply don't exist in this world.
Like this....
"Hey, that tickles."
Even touching Eun-ji's chest didn't particularly embarrass her.
She just said it tickles.
But the opposite, a woman touching a man's chest, is different.
The police get called right away and arrest her for sexual harassment.
So why was I talking about breasts now, when we were just talking about skirts a moment ago?
Because earlier, I was the one on the receiving end, so now it was Eun-ji's turn to be on the receiving end.
What I had set as the condition for me wearing a skirt was Eun-ji's lingerie fashion show.
Even if she herself was nonchalant about it, how could she possibly not be embarrassed in front of a man?
"Shall we start soon? A-ra Noona said she'd join in too."
"Why would Unnie join?"
"Even so, I can't just let a woman who isn't my wife undress alone in front of my husband, can I?"
"......Every time I see Unnie, it seems like her point of focus is just a little bit off."
I thought so too.
No matter how different men's and women's lingerie looks, isn't underwear still underwear?
Not that it mattered to me, since I didn't particularly react to anyone other than A-ra.
"How about we just scrap the lingerie fashion show and switch to trying on swimsuits instead?"
"Right... that sounds better. If some weird rumor spreads, it'll be a big problem."
"I'm fine with it, though."
"Seong-hwan-i isn't fine with it, you idiot."
A-ra Noona flicked Eun-ji on the forehead with a thwack.
It probably wasn't a big blow for Eun-ji since she's a woman, but in my case, I might get caught up in some weird rumor for no reason.
....But wait, was me wearing a skirt actually not a big problem?
Anyway, we passed by the lingerie store and arrived at a swimsuit shop.
Since summer was coming soon, the shop was quite crowded.
"Seong-hwan-a. How about this? Want to wear it this summer?"
"Looks fine."
What A-ra showed me was a swimsuit consisting of a loose-fit top and shorts.
Back in the day, things like rash guards were trendy, but it seemed these casual-clothes-style swimsuits were in fashion these days.
An outfit comfortable to wear at a valley, at the sea, and at a swimming pool.
If they had my size, buying it wouldn't be a bad idea.
"Eun-ji, you wear this."
"A bikini... but what's the difference between a bikini, a bra, and panties, I wonder?"
Eun-ji started spouting nonsense again as soon as she took the swimsuit.
Since she was asking me, I answered with a wry smile.
"The material is different, and the purpose you wear them for is different."
"But they look exactly the same, though."
Eun-ji slightly lifted her skirt, exposing her panties.
No matter how much it was a place with just us, seeing her so brazenly expose herself like that made my head hurt.
That's why she doesn't have a boyfriend.
"Aren't you embarrassed?"
"Of what?"
"I mean, no matter how much of a woman you are, aren't you ashamed in front of a man?"
"Hey. If that had been a problem, how would I have managed my idol activities? I even had a scene where I got out of the bath naked."
"True enough...."
I remembered she did that before, in some program about playing hide-and-seek alone at home or something.
It was plastered with mosaics, but the scene of her taking a shower was broadcast as-is.
"What, does it turn you on?"
"...If you keep that up, you're going to get beaten to death by A-ra Noona."
"Tch... you don't even get flustered, for a guy."
"Hey. It's been over 8 years since I got married, you think I'm going to get flustered just from seeing your panties?"
"Fair point."
Eun-ji chuckled, fanning herself by flapping her skirt, saying the weather was hot.
I sighed as I watched her, then looked toward the direction A-ra Noona had gone into to change.
"When will she come out... I want to see Noona in her swimsuit soon."
"You really are a single-minded man, aren't you."
"Of course."
Why would I have any reason to look at other women when I have a woman like A-ra?